Nigeria has announced a major railway expansion project in order to boost the country’s economy and ease road congestion, the BBC reports.
Nigeria has announced a major railway expansion project in order to boost the country’s economy and ease road congestion, the BBC reports.
Construction is under way of 144km of new train tracks to replace the old line connecting the coastal city of Lagos with Nigeria’s third largest city, Ibadan.
It is the second stage of the government’s railway modernisation project with the first, the railway between the northern city of Kaduna and the capital, Abuja, completed in 2016.
A third is planned to link northern Kano with Port Harcourt and Lagos on the southern coast.
The upgrade to a wider track aims to make rail transport easier, cheaper and faster for people and goods, and relieve the strain on the congested and damaged roads of densely populated cities like Lagos.
Whilst the Ministry of Transport hopes it will encourage critically-needed development across the country, it does come at the substantial cost of US$36 billion.
Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Freeborn Okhiria said that previous ambitions to upgrade lines had been prevented by inadequate funding.
He said that the Lagos-Ibadan line $1.5 billion scheme has already been fully funded, however, and is confident its deadline for completion will be met this month.
Almost all the funding came from the Export-Import Bank of China, with a smaller contribution from the Nigerian government.
Funding for the other projects could also come from China, as concessionary loans have interest rates of 1.5%, in comparison to 5% for commercial loans, and in return Chinese contractors are being employed for the construction process.
A new upcoming deal could create over 100,000 jobs, according to the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi.
There is public scepticism on the project, as previous investments in transport have been blighted by corruption and poor workmanship, but Amaechi says that the $1 million revenue already generated by the Abuja-Kaduna line may be enough to dispel fears.
He said: “The cost of goods, including commodities and services, are on the rise because of [the] poor transportation network.
“Most countries which have no railway are slow to develop.
“We think that it's time to increase the pace of development.”
NRC Managing Director Okhiria said: “You can move more people, more goods, more speed, [there’s] better poundage of the rail – instead of moving 40 tonnes per wagon you can move 80 tonnes.”
